Not-So-Jolly Predictions From Rogers

Date: Wednesday, February 7, 2007
Author: Hedge Fund Daily

Commodities expert Jim Rogers is the latest prophet of doom with dire predictions for both the private equity and hedge fund industries. Speaking to Australian journalists, Rogers expects there will be a "gigantic shakeout" in private equity as the current cycle comes to an end. "There is too much money, they are paying too high prices and they are leveraging themselves too much." He went on: "Next time we have a bear market, it’s isn’t going to be fun for anybody" – even for his own baby, the commodities market. This is probably not what the Aussies want to hear, especially with the current upsurge in p.e. investment Down Under. He had a few choice words for hedge funds as well. "Right now we have 25,000 to 30,000 hedge funds around the world," Rogers noted. "We don’t have that many smart 29-year-olds in the world," and lest there be skeptics among the crowd, he insisted, "I assure you, we’re going to see a lot more blow ups." Which for some won’t be a bad thing. Rogers says the survivors will pick up bargains in the fallout. "Some of these guys are going to come apart at the seam," he said, "I don’t know who’s got what positions in what, but I know when some of them start blowing up, it’s going to have huge ramifications." Still, he doesn’t believe it will affect investments in commodities, even there is a temporary change in buying habits